Rectangular concrete panels are widely used to form roofs on industrial buildings. In typical installations, walls or columns are constructed that support horizontal metal beams. These are positioned parallel to one another and at regular intervals. The rectangular concrete panels are then placed on top of the metal beams. They are typically arranged on a grid so that the joint between two ends of the rectangular concrete panels will align along one of the metal beams. In this way, a single metal beam can support two adjacent concrete panels. After covering the roof with concrete panels, additional layers of material are added to seal and/or insulate the roof. These can include one or more layers of sand, gravel, insulation, foam, concrete, silicon paint, tar, perlite, gypsums and/or other materials.
In typical installations, the concrete panels have been insufficiently fastened or attached to the metal beams. Each has a substantial weight and this alone was used to hold them in place. In recent years, however, hurricanes have demonstrated that the weight of concrete alone can, in some instances, be insufficient to hold these panels in place. Accordingly, methods have been applied to attach these existing concrete panels to the metal beams. For example, the concrete panels may be fastened to the metal beams by drilling a hole through the metal beam and into the concrete panel. The hole may extend only partially through the concrete panel, in which case a concrete screw is used to attach the panel to the beam. Alternatively, the hole may extend completely through the panel, in which case a bolt is inserted from below and a nut from above to fasten the panel to the beam. While this method is effective, it suffers from a couple significant disadvantages. First, it requires scaffolding, ladders or other apparatus to permit a construction worker to install the fasteners. Where the building is used to shelter an industrial operation, such as a factory, that runs around the clock, it may be difficult to install these fasteners without interfering with the normal operations within the building. Second, drilling into the concrete panels generates dust. Again, depending upon the particular application, if the building is used to shelter a clean environment, such as a pharmaceutical plant, this may interfere with normal operations within the building.